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Determinants of bone mass in Chinese women aged 21–40 years. II. Pattern of dietary calcium intake and association with bone mineral density

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Abstract

A study on the determinants of bone mass in young women is being carried out among 287 young Chinese women aged 21–40 years. The baseline cross-sectional data show that the mean dietary calcium intake, estimated from the quantitative food frequency method, was 448 mg/day (standard deviation = 219). About 50% of the calcium source was from vegetables and 22% from dairy products. Among women aged 21–30 years, those with a dietary calcium intake of at least 600 mg/day had a 4%–7% higher mean bone mineral density at the spine and femur when compared with those with a mean intake below 300 mg/day. In women aged 31–40 years, subjects belonging to the highest quartile of calcium density (⩾35 mg/420 kJ) had a 3%–8% higher mean bone mineral density at the spine and femur when compared with those in the lowest quartile (<20.8 mg/420 kJ). Favorable calcium intake is beneficial in this population of young women with habitual low dietary calcium intake.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community and Family Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 4th Floor, Lek Yuen Health Center, Shatin, Hong Kong

    S. C. Ho MSc, MPH, PhD, FACE, C. Chan, S. S. G. Chan & Y. K. Fan

  2. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong

    P. C. Leung

  3. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Guy's Hospital Medical School, London, UK

    R. Swaminathan

  4. College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA

    R. Lindsay

Authors
  1. S. C. Ho MSc, MPH, PhD, FACE
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  2. P. C. Leung
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  3. R. Swaminathan
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  4. C. Chan
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  5. S. S. G. Chan
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  6. Y. K. Fan
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  7. R. Lindsay
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Ho, S.C., Leung, P.C., Swaminathan, R. et al. Determinants of bone mass in Chinese women aged 21–40 years. II. Pattern of dietary calcium intake and association with bone mineral density. Osteoporosis Int 4, 167–175 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01623064

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01623064

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